Labour will not take UK back into the EU or single market

In a speech to the Centre for European Reform at an event at the Irish Embassy in London, Sir Keir said: “There are some who say, ‘We don’t need to make Brexit work – we need to reverse it’. I couldn’t disagree more.

“Because you cannot move forward or grow the country or deliver change or win back the trust of those who have lost faith in politics if you’re constantly focused on the arguments of the past.

“We cannot afford to look back over our shoulder because all the time we are doing that we are missing what is ahead of us.

“So let me be very clear. Under Labour, Britain will not go back into the EU. We will not be joining the single market. We will not be joining a customs union.”

Sir Keir acknowledged that some voters may be disappointed by his stance, but, he added, it was his “job to be frank and honest”.

“Nothing about revisiting those rows will help stimulate growth or bring down food prices or help British business thrive in the modern world,” he said.

“It would simply be a recipe for more division, it would distract us from taking on the challenges facing people and it would ensure Britain remained stuck for another decade.”

Sir Keir said the “starting point” of Labour’s plan for making Brexit work is to “sort out the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

The party would eliminate “most border checks created by the Tory Brexit deal”, he said, and implement a “new veterinary agreement for Agri-products between the UK and EU”.

It would also work with businesses to put in place a “better scheme” to allow low-risk goods to enter Northern Ireland without “unnecessary checks”, he said.

The Labour leader admitted Britain would not be able to deliver “completely frictionless trade” with the EU outside of the bloc, but said there are “things we can do” to ease the process.

“Labour would extend that new veterinary agreement to cover all the UK, seeking to build on agreements and mechanisms already in place between the EU and other countries – benefiting our exporters at a stroke,” he said.

He pointed to a “hulking ‘fatberg’ of red tape and bureaucracy” under the deal brokered by the Conservatives, claiming this is “hampering the flow of British business”.

“We will break that barrier down, unclog the arteries of our economy and allow trade to flourish once more,” he added.

The remainder of Labour’s plan would see Britain’s industries supported by “mutual recognition of professional qualifications” and restored access to funding and research programmes, new security arrangements to defend the nation’s borders, and the delivery of “good, clean jobs of the future to our shores”.

Concluding his keynote speech, Sir Keir added: “In 2016, the British people voted for change. The very narrow question that was on the ballot paper – leaving or remaining in the EU – is now in the past.

“But the hope that underpinned that vote – the desire for a better, fairer, more equitable future for our country is no closer to being delivered.

“We will not return to freedom of movement to create short-term fixes, instead we will invest in our people and our places and deliver on the promise our country has.

“If we are to restore faith in politics as a force for good, we must now get on with delivering on that promise.”

SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford said Sir Keir had “strengthened the case for independence by embracing the Tories' hard Brexit.”

“It is now beyond doubt that independence is Scotland's only way back to Europe and the only path to economic prosperity,” he added. 

"The Labour Party are now indistinguishable from the Tories on Brexit. 

“By running scared of the Tories and mutating into a pale imitation of Boris Johnson, Starmer is offering no real change at all.

"With all the Westminster parties ruling out a return to the EU, the single market and customs union, it is clear there is no route back to Europe and economic prosperity at Westminster.”